Peony
Paeonia × lactiflora
Herbaceous peony is a long-lived perennial cut flower ideal for Zones 3-8, producing large, showy blooms for fresh market sales in late spring. Thrives in well-drained soils with chill hours abundant in cool-temperate regions.
Crop Snowflake Score
/acre
/acre
/acre
years
Overview
Growing Season
- Plant
- Fall (Oct-Dec) – Fall (Oct-Dec)
- Harvest
- Mid-May to June – Mid-May to June
- Frost-free days
- 30+
- GDD (base 50°F)
- 2,000
Yield
- Typical yield
- 40,000 marketable stems/acre
- Productive lifespan
- 20 years
- Years to full prod.
- 3
- Labor
- 1000 hrs/acre
Market Fit
Active Regional Buyers
No buyer on record for this crop in the catalog's buyer network.
Price Trend Stable/Up
3-year price trend recorded as "increasing".
Supply Below Demand
4 of 5 documented channels rate viability "strong". Sold into regional rather than national markets, cut flower supply here generally trails that demand.
Multiple Buyer Channels
5 of 5 documented market channels rate viable or better (wholesale, retail, farmers_market, direct_to_consumer). Multiple independent routes to market.
Value-Added Potential
3 viable direct-market channels (farmers_market, direct_to_consumer, csa). Supports value-added and margin capture beyond wholesale.
Market Growth Projected
Specialty cut flower segment; consumer demand for regionally grown specialty produce has been expanding.
Market Channels
Climate Fit
Hardiness Zone Match
Crop tolerates zones 3-8; region spans 5-6. Overlaps.
GDD Sufficient
Crop needs 2000 GDD (base 50F); region accumulates 2500+. Sufficient.
Precipitation Compatible
Crop needs ~12 in; region receives ~38 in/yr. Compatible, irrigation available as supplement.
Frost-Free Season OK
Crop needs 30 frost-free days; region provides ~180. Sufficient.
Chill Hours Met
Perennial. Region's zone 5-6 winters deliver well over 1,000 chill hours, ample for temperate perennials.
Climate Trend Favorable
Crop spans 6 hardiness zones (3-8). Wide adaptive range buffers against warming trend.
Soil Compatibility
Soil Texture
Drainage
Infrastructure Fit
Equipment Compatible
2 of 8 documented equipment items are crop-specific (25%) against a catalog median of 29%. Most needs are met by general row-crop or orchard equipment.
Storage Available
2 documented storage routes; at least one (Fresh cut stems (refrigerated)) is reachable with conventional on-farm or third-party facilities.
Irrigation Compatible
Requires ~12 in. Deliverable with conventional drip or overhead irrigation.
Field Layout Suitable
Suited to the small-to-mid-size fragmented parcels typical of the region.
Labor Availability
1000 labor hr/ac vs catalog 75th percentile 250 hr/ac. Labor-intensive — competes for scarce seasonal labor.
Processing Proximity
No processing or cooperative buyer on record for this crop; product would need to travel or be sold fresh.
Equipment Requirements
irrigation
Virginia Extension recommends drip as a time- and water-saving alternative, run the length of the bed beneath the mulch. Overhead irrigation also worsens foliar disease on saleable stems.
cultivation
Plastic mesh grid raised as plants grow, holding tall species straight. Bent or crooked stems are unsaleable, so support is not optional for most species.
Weed suppression in beds where cultivation between closely spaced stems is impractical.
harvesting
Clean, sharp cuts are required for water uptake; Extension emphasises keeping cutting tools sanitised.
post_harvest
Dedicated, sanitised buckets. Extension stresses cleanliness of buckets, surfaces and coolers as a postharvest control point.
Virginia Extension specifies 35-40°F holding. Options run from built-in-place coolers and prefabricated units to modified refrigerated transport bodies.
Commercial hydrators, conditioners and ethylene inhibitors. Stems are held in acidified water at pH 3.0-5.5.
general
Extension lists deer and rabbits among primary pests. Browsing removes the harvested organ itself, so exclusion is the only reliable control at scale.
Storage Requirements
Fresh cut stems (refrigerated)
Temperature
35–40°F
Max Storage
14 days
Cold conditioning / pre-cooling (dry or wet)
Temperature
35–40°F
Max Storage
1 days
Finance Fit
Revenue Above Average
Gross revenue $32,000/ac vs catalog median $6,000/ac. Above median.
Input Costs Acceptable
Annual operating cost $10,000/ac vs catalog 75th percentile $6,300/ac. Above the top quartile.
Payback Period OK
Reaches full production in 3 years. Acceptable payback.
Insurance Available
Federal crop insurance or an equivalent risk product is available.
Revenue Per Labor Hour
Net return per labor hour $10.00 ($10,000/ac over 1000 hr/ac) vs catalog median $13.16. Below median.
Grants/Subsidies
No specialty-crop or cover-crop incentive program identified for this cut flower crop.
Economics Breakdown
| Avg Price/Unit | $5/stem |
| Gross Revenue/Acre | $32,000 |
| Annual Operating Cost | $10,000/acre |
| Establishment Cost | $20,000/acre |
| Total Input Cost | —/acre |
| Net Return/Acre | $10,000 |
| Revenue/Labor Hour | — |
| Crop Insurance | Available |
Source: Penn State Extension Cut Flower Production; Virginia Tech Specialty Cut Flowers; industry surveys (2025)
Risk Fit
Manageable Pest/Disease
6 of 6 documented risks are high-severity (100%) against a catalog median of 36%. Above-median concentration of high-severity risk, demanding intensive management.
Market Diversified
5 viable market channels of 5 documented. Not dependent on a single outlet.
Low Establishment Risk
3 years to full production at $20,000/ac establishment cost. Multi-year capital commitment before first full return.
Climate Resilient
Tolerates zones 3-8 (6 zones). Broad tolerance indicates resilience to seasonal variability.
Regulatory Burden Low
No crop-specific licensing or reporting regime beyond standard food-safety and pesticide rules.
Diversifies Portfolio
Adds a cut flower revenue stream distinct from the region's grape-dominated base.
Known Risks
disease
Named by Virginia Cooperative Extension as a primary cut-flower disease. Foliar and stem coating renders stems unsaleable outright, since cut flowers are graded almost entirely on appearance.
pest
Colonise buds and stem tips, distorting growth and depositing honeydew and sooty mould. A single visible aphid can reject a bunch at wholesale.
Adults feed directly on open blooms of many cut species during peak summer harvest, causing immediate and total loss of affected stems.
Virginia Extension lists rabbits and deer among the main pests. Browsing removes the harvestable organ itself rather than merely reducing vigour.
environmental
Industry survey work identifies crop timing alongside insect and disease management as the main production problem. Cut flowers must meet dated events; a bloom window missed by a week can lose the entire value of a succession.
Survey work identifies temperature management, hydration and flower-food management as the main postharvest problems. Vase life lost in the first hour after cutting cannot be recovered downstream.
Nutritional Yield
Nutrition data pending.
Research agents will profile Peony against USDA FoodData Central on the next maintenance pass. Per-acre nutritional yield will appear here once the per-100g panel is recorded.
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem service data pending.
The next research-agent rotation will document this crop's contributions to pollinator support, soil health, water quality, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration.
Nearby Buyers
Data Sources
Every data point on this page is traceable to its source. Below you'll find the complete provenance trail — which sources were used, when data was last verified, and a full change history.
Primary sources: Data sourced from Cornell Cooperative Extension, Penn State Extension, USDA resources, and regional research.
Economics data year: 2025 · Region: lake_erie View economics source →
1 tracked change across 1 data category